1. Field
The disclosed embodiments relate to wireless networks. More specifically, the disclosed embodiments relate to techniques for advertising and using services on electronic devices through virtual access point interfaces on the electronic devices.
2. Related Art
Recent improvements in computing power and wireless networking technology have significantly increased the capabilities of electronic devices. For example, laptop computers, tablet computers, portable media players, smartphones, digital media receivers, video game consoles, and/or other modern electronic devices are typically equipped with WiFi capabilities that allow the electronic devices to retrieve webpages, stream audio and/or video, share desktops and/or user interfaces (UIs), and/or transfer files wirelessly among one another.
However, conventional wireless networking technology may require the use of preexisting access points, cellular radio towers, and/or other structured networks to connect electronic devices to each other and/or the Internet. As a result, network traffic and/or communication between two electronic devices may be limited by the availability, bandwidth, signal strength, latencies, and/or capabilities of structured network components used to transmit the network traffic.
On the other hand, modern electronic devices may be capable of forming wireless ad hoc networks that bypass the use of access points, cellular towers, and/or structured networks to transmit network traffic among nodes of the wireless ad hoc networks. Instead, the electronic devices may use the wireless ad hoc networks to communicate directly with one another, thereby increasing throughput and/or removing limitations associated with transmitting data through the access points and/or structured networks. Consequently, communication among electronic devices may be facilitated by mechanisms for increasing the use of wireless ad hoc networks by the electronic devices.